Vermont Homes Form a Virtual Power Plant
Thursday, October 1, 2026175 words3 minutes2011 reads
A power plant is usually one large place that makes electricity. In Vermont, Green Mountain Power is building a different kind of resource. It links stored energy in thousands of homes, batteries, and devices. Together, they form a virtual power plant, or VPP.
The system does not create electricity by itself. Instead, software coordinates energy that is already stored. During times of peak demand, when electricity use is very high, the company can draw on part of that energy. Customers still keep reserve power, especially when bad weather could cause outages.
As of July 2026, GMP said its VPP could provide 110 megawatts of power. More than half came from home energy-storage systems. The company said its network sent 90 megawatts of stored energy during a July heat event and saved customers about $6 million in one peak hour.
GMP says the growing system has helped it permanently close two fossil-fuel peaker plants. The VPP may make the grid cleaner and cheaper, but it still depends on customers joining, usable batteries, and careful grid management.
